Such a simple but deliciously easy dish to prepare using a well stocked store cupboard’s ingredients is my lamb keema recipe. When I worked for an accountancy practice, one of the clients I used to go out and visit would often feed me some of this for lunch that his wife had made. Bear in mind that they had two young girls who ate this – it would have me almost in tears with the heat – I’m such a wimp! Be assured that mine is nowhere near as hot as that, but it can be if you want it to!

2 medium onions

15ml Rapeseed oil

½tsp Cumin seeds

2 Bay leaves

1-2 chillies (according on taste)

200g tinned tomatoes

2tsp Garlic & Ginger paste (or 1tsp of each)

1tsp Turmeric

½-1tsp Chilli powder (according to taste)

1tsp Garam masala

500g Lamb mince

Salt

50g frozen Peas

Cup water

Fresh Mint

Fresh Coriander

4tbs natural yoghurt

2tsp Mint sauce concentrate

Finely chop the onions.

Heat the oil in a large pan.

Add the cumin seeds and bay leaves and fry off for 30 seconds.

Add the onion and cook until starting to brown. This should take 3-4 mins.

When you’ve been sent some bottles of refreshing Grace Foods Aloe Drink to try and you want explore what you can do with it, apart from enjoy drinking it, then what else can you do, except make a deliciously moist and tasty cake?

Well, this is exactly what happened recently and exactly what I did. So, read on, get your apron on, your ingredients out and enjoy some time in the kitchen before tucking into a slice (or two) of this deliciously moist cake.

Bake for 65-70 minutes until the cake has just started to shrink from the edges of the tin and a skewer comes out clean when inserted into the thickest part of the cake.

Allow to cook in the tin for 5 minutes, whilst you make the glaze.

In a small saucepan, heat the caster sugar and Aloe Vera Drink until boiling, then reduce the heat to a rolling boil and the syrup has reduced by half.

Using your skewer, make a series of small holes in the flat surface of the cake and slowly spoon half of the glaze over the cake, allowing it to soak in fully.

Invert the tin onto a wire cooking rack and prick the top with your skewer all over then, gently and slowly spoon the other half of your glaze over the top of the cake, again allowing it to soak in fully.

Leave the cake to cool completely.

Mix together the Aloe Vera Drink and mango purée, then sieve the the icing sugar into it, mixing thoroughly until you get a thickish icing.

Gently pour the icing over the top of the cake, allowing it to drizzle down the outside edge and into the centre hollow.

You can find mango purée and coconut milk in the international food aisle of your local supermarket. I tend to use my Kenwood Major Titanium stand mixer to make cakes in if it involves beating the mixture for several minutes as it leaves me to get on with setting up the next stage of my preparation. If it’s something that only needs a very quick mix, then I use my Kenwood K-Mix hand mixer instead.

Grace Foods sent me some bottles of their Aloe Refresh Aloe Vera Drinks to sample. I was under no obligation to develop any recipes or provide a review of their products in return for these drinks.

My other recipe using Jersey Royal potatoes is more of a traditional one. For this one, they’re gently boiled and then roasted to perfection, served with Chantenay carrots and deliciously lean New Zealand lamb leg steaks, slowly cooked in a rich Barolo red wine and mint sauce.

1 lemon, zest & juice

1 lamb leg steak per person

10ml Rapeseed oil

2 Red onions, chopped finely

10ml Plain flour

15ml Mint sauce concentrate

250ml Barolo red wine

100ml Vegetable stock

Bay leaf

Salt & pepper to taste

Rapeseed oil sufficient to roast the potatoes

Jersey Royal potatoes

Chantenay carrots

Broccoli

Zest the lemon and squeeze the lemon juice over the lamb steaks. Toss to coat, cover and refrigerate for a couple of hours to start to tenderise the meat.

Heat the oven to 180℃/160℃ fan.

In a large ovenproof pan (with a lid), heat the oil and fry the onions gently until transparent.

Turn up the heat and fry the lamb leg steaks until browned on both sides. Remove the lamb to a plate to keep warm.

Evenly sprinkle the flour over the onions and oil and mix thoroughly to a paste (no floury lumps).

I’d originally wanted to cook Ox cheek, however neither of my two local butchers had any, and only one had some British shin of beef as an alternative, so that’s what I’ve used for today’s dinner. I’ve cooked this in 2/3 bottle of Aldi UK Fleurie red wine, from the Beaujolais region of France, but you could use an ale if you prefer.

30ml Rapeseed oil

2 medium onions, chopped

3 medium carrots, chopped

3 sticks of celery, chopped

3 cloves of garlic, bruised

2tbs Plain flour

Salt & pepper

2kg Shin of beef, diced

500ml red wine (or ale)

300ml beef stock

Handful of thyme, roughly chopped

2 Bay leaves

Stick of cinnamon

1. Preheat your oven to 180℃ (160℃ fan).

2. In a large casserole dish, heat 15ml of oil.

3. Fry the onions, carrots, celery and garlic until transparent, but not coloured.

4. Remove the vegetables to a bowl whilst you prepare the beef.

5. In a plastic bag, put the flour and season with salt and pepper.

6. Place the beef into the bag and toss to coat evenly. Shake off the excess.

7. Heat 15ml of oil in the casserole dish and fry the beef in batches until brown on all sides.

8. Remove the beef with the vegetables.

9. Add 100ml of the wine to the casserole dish and scrape the bottom of the dish to release all the flavours.

10. Add the rest of the wine, the beef stock, thyme, bay leaves and cinnamon stick, along with the browned beef and vegetables.

11. Give it a good stir to mix, put the lid on and put the casserole dish into the oven to cook.

12. Cook for 3-4 hours until the beef is tender and falls apart.

13. Remove the bay leaves, cinnamon stick and the garlic cloves.

14. Serve on a bed of chive mashed potatoes with some steamed savoy cabbage.